MYGroup has entered into a joint venture with insect genetics company Beta Bugs to supply eggs for its Black Soldier Fly (BSF) bioconversion Insectology™ process for food waste management.
Under the joint venture, Beta Bugs will become MYGroup’s exclusive supplier of BSF eggs, with a new breeding and hatching facility to be established at the waste management company’s The Maltings site at South Milford, near Leeds.
The new in-house breeding and hatching facility will complete MYGroup’s Insectology™ process end-to-end, ensuring a reliable and consistent supply of eggs and neonates.
MYGroup will draw on Beta Bugs’ specialist expertise in establishing and up-scaling BSF hatchery operations and their superior genetics to optimise the Insectology process. Beta Bugs will leverage an oversized breeding site to enhance their supply of high-quality breeding stock to the UK market.
Beta Bugs Ltd is a UK-based biotechnology company and global leader in BSF genetics, developing and supplying high-performance breeds to the growing BSF farming sector. Operating from the Roslin Innovation Centre in Edinburgh, the company supplies BSF eggs, including HiPer-Fly® and Just-Fly™ to insect farmers. Founded by Thomas Farrugia, Beta Bugs has raised £6.5M to build an industry-first selective breeding programme and nucleus population for BSF. Their work supports waste reduction, circular economy solutions, and improved profitability for insect farmers. Beta Bugs is shaping the future of insect farming by establishing genetics as a core component of a specialised, scalable value chain.
The partnership comes as demand grows for more sustainable, circular approaches to both food waste management and protein production. MYGroup’s Insectology process uses BSF bioconversion, which involves feeding food waste to BSF larvae supplied by Beta Bugs to reduce and metabolise the matter. Insect bioconversion has been shown to reduce waste volumes by 75% in under 10 days, while generating high-value byproducts from protein meal to organic fertiliser.
In the UK, around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste is generated each year, yet only 20% is recycled. The majority ends up in landfill, contributing to both harmful emissions and resource loss. At the same time, traditional food production systems are under pressure from growing populations, environmental and health concerns, accelerating the search for sustainable protein alternatives.
Following the launch of MYGroup’s first dedicated BSF farm earlier this year, securing the reliable supply of eggs and hatchery expertise under the Beta Bugs joint venture is the next step in creating a truly circular solution to meet these dual challenges.
Steve Carrie, Group Director, MYGroup, said: ‘With the vertical integration of egg supply directly into our Insectology process, together with enhanced breeding and hatching capabilities, we’re able to ensure optimal quality, reliability and transparency at every stage. Beta Bugs are the perfect partner – innovative, highly specialised and equally committed to scaling BSF bioconversion as a mainstream solution for food waste and the sustainable protein market.’
Thomas Farrugia, CEO and Founder of Beta Bugs, said: ‘The team at MYGroup, supported by Beta Bugs products and expertise, has rapidly developed a very robust BSF production process. As a specialist insect genetics company, this model of collaboration confirms our belief that combined efforts between insect genetic companies such as ourselves and partner-producers such as MYGroup are what will enable this industry to upscale and take flight. We look forward to scaling operations together and enabling the UK and international markets to develop even further.’
